Swing tenor saxophone player Ben Webster earned the nickname “The Brute and the Beautiful” in jazz circles where his musical versatility was well-known. Webster's signature tough, raspy and gruff tone softened on ballads, which he played with warmth and sentiment. This release presents the romantic side of Webster, showcasing some of his most impressive sessions from the 1950s, accompanied by Billy Strayhorn, Teddy Wilson and Jimmy Hamilton.

This album contains high-resolution digital transfers of material originating from an analogue master source.

From 2xHD:

In the constant evolution of its proprietary mastering process, 2xHD has progressed to a new phase called 2xHD FUSION, integrating the finest analog, with state-of-the-art digital technology.

The mastering chain consists of a selection of high-end vacuum tube equipment. For the recordings on this album, the original ¼” 15 ips CCIR master tapes were played on a Nagra-T tape recorder, modified with high-end tube playback electronics, wired from the playback head directly to a Telefunken EF806 tube, using OCC silver cable. The Nagra T, with its four direct drive motors, two pinch rollers and a tape tension head, has one of the best transports ever made. A custom-built carbon fiber head block and a head damping electronic system permit 2XHD FUSION to obtain a better resolution and 3D imaging.

The resulting signal is then transformed into high resolution formats by recording it in DSD 11.2 MHz using a Merging Technologies’ Horus A to D converter. All analog and digital cables that are used are state of the art. The 2xHD FUSION mastering system is powered by a super capacitor power supply, using a new technology that lowers the digital noise found in the lowest level of the spectrum. A vacuum tube NAGRA HDdac (DSD) is used as a reference digital playback converter in order to A and B with the original analog master tape., permitting the fusion of the warmth of analog with the refinement of digital.

Offers & New Releases

What is High-Resolution Audio?

High-resolution audio offers the highest-fidelity available, far surpassing the sound quality of traditional CDs. When you listen to music on a CD or tracks purchased via consumer services such as iTunes, you are hearing a low-resolution version of what was actually recorded and mastered in the studio. ProStudioMasters offers the original studio masters — exactly as the artist, producers and sound engineers mastered them — for download, directly to you.

What do I need for playback?

You may need additional software / hardware to take full advantage of the higher 24-bit high-res audio formats, but any music lover that has heard 16-bit vs 24-bit will tell you it's worth it!